The Title in the Story
by asc12
Summary: When a case seems unending the team is ready to give up. Sweets works with another agent which causes Booth to question their friendship, but the answer may come too late. Preceeds "The Sequel to the Story"! Sweets centered.
1. Chapter 1-3

Season 8 or 9, anything post Daisy.

I do not own Bones, besides my own.

* * *

**The Title in the Story**

"Why can't this case just be over?" Angela asked exasperated as she stood before the large screen in her office. She would have thrown down her tablet if it weren't so expensive.

"Ange, we're going to get this guy." Hodgins tried to calm his wife though he was beginning to wonder to himself if it was possible to catch the guy.

"I don't get it, we've tried everything, it's like when we get close he likes, morphs into some new." She set down the tablet to begin rubbing the temples of her head. Jack tried to smile as he embraced her and began to rub her back.

"It's been what two weeks now and it just, doesn't end!" Angela said again and Hodgins knew this was beginning to take a toll on all of them. The long hours that stretched from night to early morning at times seemed to be purposeful every time they thought they were close and then it would all disappear and they would be back at square one.

"I'm guessing we have nothing new?" Cam asked slowly entering the room. Normally Cam was abnormally professional, distanced even but now even she was showing signs of wear.

"Nothing. It just dead ends." Angela said picking up her tablet again. "Then it gets back on course, and dead ends all over again."

"Maybe we need to step back and reevaluate." Wendell suggested having entered the room with Dr. Brennan.

"Sure, if it would help. The victim was found in a trash dumpster, death from blunt force trauma to the head." Angela narrated while she played the video. "The victim is Jane Foyer, a 32 year old ex-convict recently out on parole. No family, no friends and she worked as a late night delivery driver so she hardly even talked to people." Angela brought up the woman's id on the screen and corresponding x-rays.

"The particulates I found were so general they could literally be found anywhere and everywhere in the D.C. area. There's usually something, but nothing." Jack said rubbing his own eyes and glancing at his watch that showed it was past 8 p.m. "Any time I thought I had something that would lead to something it was just from one of her many drop off points."

"Everything I found in the body pretty much went the same way." Cam took off her designer high heels and tossed them by the door. Like her description, she was too tired to go into detail and her feet were reminding her of it.

"The damage to the bones were primarily caused from a childhood broken arm, most likely a bicycle accident, which isn't uncommon. Then there were additional damages while she was in prison." Brennan reminded them leaving out the jargon they had gone over it he weeks before, leaving it to the brief summary.

"And every lead Booth had led to nothing." Angela said bringing it full circle.

"It's as though this guy randomly killed someone and put her in the trash dumpster." Jack said summing up their thoughts, their efforts done.

"It couldn't have been completely random, like Dr. Sweets suggested. The killer cut her wrists allowing her to slowly bleed to death. When that didn't work he bashed her head in. This doesn't feel random." Wendell reminded them.

"Yes, but what else do we have to go with?" Brennan asked ready to state the obvious, either from the late hour or the lack of more evidence. "I'm afraid this will become a cold case."

The others nodded but almost in disagreement. They knew there were few other options but it didn't feel right.

Slowly the group disbanded and soon left for the night. After a few goodbyes Brennan left to pick up Booth, see if he had any information that was new though she doubted it. She would tell him of the team's understanding that from their side, it would not be solved.

* * *

Chapter 2

"There's got to be something else!" Booth shouted.

Sweets threw his arms in the air clearly exasperated. He had surpassed rolling his eyes two days ago and now he was just annoyed.

"I don't know what you want me to tell you agent Booth." Sweets hissed.

"How to find this guy Sweets!" Booth shouted back even though he regretted saying it as he did. He knew that Sweets had been practically living in his office the last two weeks working on profiles and following every lead. Leads that took hours of research to profile on his end, work that would quickly disintegrate quickly as the possible suspects were dismissed.

"Look, I want to find this guy too, most likely he is going to do this again. But I don't know what else I can do. I've…" Sweets stopped as Brennan entered the room.

She quickly saw the exhausted look on Sweets face and the sheepish look on Booth's and wondered what Booth has said to insult Sweets. She realized she would recognize it, it was the one she got every time she in advertently insulted Sweets' soft science profession.

"Hey Bones." Booth said more calm.

"I wanted to come by and let you know that we have come to the conclusion, at the lab, that this case…" Brennan sighed, she didn't want to admit defeat but she was going to have to. "Is considered what I believe you call cold on our end."

Booth watched Sweets sigh and nod his head in agreement. Booth felt somewhat angry the two were giving up though he knew rationally it was their only option, another case was possibly going to be assigned to them soon. The only reason they had been able to work on it as long as they had was not only the recurring possibilities that would eventually run cold, but they had no other cases pending.

Booth reluctantly nodded his head as he knew that this case was holding up other work at the Jeffersonian and that Sweets had ben cancelling with his patients too.

"Yeah, let's go home." Booth said Sweets gave a quick wave over his shoulder as he left.

Brennan looked at Booth and knew something was on his mind but she didn't know how to ask. Booth quickly tidied up and wondered how and if he should apologize to Sweets. He didn't like that he had insinuated that he had not worked hard enough. He decided that tomorrow would do.

* * *

Chapter 3.

The next day Booth and Brennan overslept, their bodies craving much needing and previously refused sleep. Without Christine to possibly wake them up, having spent the night with Max, their back up alarm clock had failed.

Showing up to work at 10 a.m. was not something either of them would consider acceptable.

Booth knew he could feign having been following some lead that morning so no one asked where he was. He knew Brennan was probably having a harder time at the Jeffersonian. He grinned at her uncomfortably shifting in front of the staff at her tardiness. They wouldn't dare say anything but they would smile. He loved his wife, but seeing her be, human, was sometimes a delight.

Booth's smile faded as he approached Sweets office. He still hadn't decided what to say but he opened Sweets door and went in anyway. He stopped when he got in the office which was devoid of lights of life. He smiled to himself as he thought Sweets must have overslept as well.

Booth smiled as lunch came quickly, which it naturally would when you get into work late. Now that the case was closed and the new one was yet to be assigned to him he found himself with little to do. Brennan was busy at the lab with some sort of 18th century bones, he wasn't sure. All he heard was she was too busy for lunch and Booth was restless with little to do.

He walked by Sweets office again but still no one was there. Now he started to feel more worried. Booth pulled out his cell and called Sweets cell and when he reached Sweets voicemail a strange though occurred to him, he hadn't heard Sweets voicemail before, he always answered. He was leaving a message when an incoming call interrupted him. He paused to see it was Sweets calling him. _That's more like it._ He thought to himself.

"Agent Booth?" Sweets said nearly shouting as the location he was at was very loud. "Did you call?"

"Yeah, Sweets where are you?" Booth asked wondering if he needed to shout back.

"Virginia." Sweets answered and began to talk to someone next to him but Booth couldn't hear the conversation. "Booth, we have to take off now, we'll be back to the office in a bit. Do you need something sooner?"

Booth realized the sound he was hearing was a helicopter. "No, I'll just talk to you when you get back."

Sweets continued to talk to someone else in and Booth felt irritated though he was sure Sweets wasn't doing it intentionally. Finally Booth just hung up as Sweets must have thought the conversation was done.

Booth went back to his office. He wasn't hungry anymore. He wondered why Sweets went to Virginia on what was most likely a case. _Why wasn't I called in on the case?_ Booth wondered and left in a direction to find out.


	2. Chapter 4

Chapter 4.

Booth wasn't satisfied with what the vending machine had to offer so he sat grumpy and hungry in his office. He wasn't equally as unsatisfied with the answer he had gotten about the Virginia case. Sure it was an open case for a few weeks another agent was working on. But Booth didn't like how the other agent, Agent Joseph Landry just picked up Sweets and took him with him. And into the field to boot! Sure Sweets was a grown man and he had a gun, but…

He heard people in the hall and it stirred Booth from his grumblings. He got up and found Sweets at the end of the hall laughing with another man, Agent Landry he presumed. Booth grabbed a folder as though he were heading in that direction.

The two stopped laughing as Booth got closer.

"Agent Booth." Sweets said with a smile still fresh from the duo's fit of laughter. Booth saw Sweets looked worn and tired but apparently it didn't bother him. "I was just heading to your office."

"Yeah, how was Virginia?" Booth asked not bothering to make any small talk. Sweets nodded his head picking up on Booth's clipped tone.

"Agent Booth, this is Agent Joe Landry." Sweets said introducing them and furrowing an eyebrow at how Booth stiffly shook the agent's hand.

"Agent Landry." He said then let go. "I guess you needed Sweet's help in the field?"

"Yes!" Landry said with a large smile and enthusiasm. "Dr. Sweets was incredible. We would have never caught the suspect without his help."

Sweets smiled and began to wave off the compliment when Booth interrupted.

"In the field, why in the field?"

Sweets eyes seemed to narrow at Booth's suggestion that Sweets was only valuable behind a computer.

"Well it was late last night and I just happened to catch Dr. Sweets leaving." Landry began and Booth couldn't help but notice he only called Sweets Dr. Sweets. "I was so frustrated and Sweets caught me on my fifth pot of coffee. He asked if I was okay and I just him about the case I was working on. The other profiler I had worked with had nothing on Dr. Sweets here. We worked till midnight and then BAM! The whole case came wide open. We put together a team and I asked Dr. Sweets to come along. We flew the chopper down to VA early this morning, caught the guy."

"What did you need Sweets in the field for?" Booth asked as though it were downright silly.

"Are you kidding. We got there, this compound practically. Dr. Sweets could even profile the compound! It was amazing and saved the lives of a dozen guys." Landry was still smiling in genuine appreciation and Booth glanced at Sweets who should have been relishing in the moment but instead seemed almost shy.

"No, it was nothing." He said downplaying his part. Landry was about to interject with the opposing opinion when Sweets held out a hand to Landry.

"Well Agent Landry I'd better get going. I need to see a few patients and then I really need some shut eye." Sweets said.

Landry grasped Sweets hand in a hand lock pulling him into a one armed man-bear hug bump. Sweets seemed taken aback by the rewarding yet manly distanced moment.

"Hey, man, call me, I totally owe you. Beer, wings, anything you want it's on me. Hey maybe this weekend if you're free, it's the final four, good time to catch a bite."

"Sure sounds great." Sweets said putting his hands in his pocket as he backed away, his enthusiasm much less than it was when Booth initially saw him.

Once Sweets was gone Booth turned back to Agent Landry who was still smiling.

"Okay bud," Agent Booth began in a harsh tone. "What's up? Why are you messing with Sweets like that?"

Landry's smile vanished as a confused look took over his face. "Messing with Dr. Sweets?"

"It's Sweets. Not Dr. Sweets."

"I thought he was a doctor."

"Well, yeah he is but he's like 12."

"I don't see as that matters. Dr. Sweets is the best in his field. I was honored that he wanted to help me last night. A lot of agents want to work with him but he turns them down, he tends to only work with you." Landry said and Booth's face softened a little as this was news to him. "And why do you think I'm messing with him?"

"You wanted to take him out and all. Look, Sweets is a nice guy, I don't want you stringing him along into something."

Agent Landry now looked not only confused but angry. "I _was _being serious Agent Booth. And yes, Dr. Sweets is a nice guy. He helped me out, a lot, and I wanted to repay him for that."

Landry looked like he wanted to say something else but not only was Booth a bit taller than he, but Booth was a senior officer. Booth knew what is was that Landry wanted to say by the look in his eye. What Booth had said spoke volumes more about what Booth thought of Sweets than what Booth thought Landry had thought.

Booth definitely had no clue what to say to Sweets now. At this point he was pretty sure that whatever he did say was only going to make it worse so he headed back to his office.

Just how did Booth see Sweets he wondered to himself. Sweets seemed to think better of Booth than Sweets thought of himself or what he thought Booth thought of him. Sure, Booth had thought of him as annoying little brother for so long maybe he hadn't thought to think of him as more than that. They had now known each other for a long time, they had been thru a lot together. Maybe it was time to rexamine and update his perception of Sweets he thought to himself as he went in his office.

His phone blinked a missed call at him. Once he listened he found multiple, Brennan and the boss. Another body had been found, just like Jane Foyer's had been. Booth sighed as Sweets was right, the guy wasn't done yet.


	3. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Booth got all the details he could. He jotted some of it down on paper and put his notebook in his pocket as he headed out of his office towards Sweets office.

As Booth walked in Sweets was listening to messages as well and when Sweets nodded his head to Booth as he came in, Booth knew Sweets had gotten the message as well about the new victim.

"You were right." Booth said as Sweets hung up his phone.

"I'd rather not have been." Sweets said with a sigh.

"They're uh moving the bones to the Jeffersonian. They'll probably be there when we arrive." Booth said and noticed Sweets was looking at the piles of folders on his desk. "But if you're busy you know, I can…"

"No, I should go. I can get back to this later." Sweets said grabbing some keys as they made their way to the door." Sweets yawned as they approached and he was surprised when Booth turned and noticed.

"Sweets, really, I know you worked late last night." Booth started to think about what Landry had said about Sweets stopping to offer to help him late last night, did Sweets get any sleep, he wondered. He looked at Sweets face which was trying to suppress another yawn and figured that was a no. "You know, how about I handle this, or maybe another profiler if you are tired." Booth was secretly hoping Sweets would decline the offer as another profiler wouldn't be near as talented as Sweets. Sweets made Booth's job a lot easier and since the conversation with Landry was now giving him more to think about.

"Agent Booth if you prefer another…"

"I don't." Booth said adamantly wanting to clear that up right away. "You just look exhausted Sweets."

"Well I'm not going to get any sleep knowing a guy is out there killing multiple women." Sweets said starting to walk again so that Booth followed as well. "Besides, by the time I did get all my research handed over it would probably take less time to just do it myself."

Booth couldn't argue with the logic Sweets was putting forth but yet something still bothered him about the whole situation as they drove to the Jeffersonian. Sweets seemed content looking out the window. Booth wondered what Sweets thought about when he sat looking out the window so quietly at times like these. A smart guy like Sweets, he imagined, was always thinking of something.

They arrived at the Jeffersonian to find Brennan examining the bones on the platform in a preliminary exam.

"Are we sure that this is the same guy?" Booth asked, wishing for so many reasons it was not.

"I cannot definitively say…" Brennan began when she saw the 'cut to the chase' look on Booth's face. "At this point, the evidence supports that."

"Was the victim left to bleed to death again?" Sweets asked looking over the information handed to him.

"Yes, and again the killer seemed to lose patience and bashed the victim's head in." Wendell added.

"Interesting." Sweets said reading still.

"Why do you do that?" Booth said with more annoyance in his voice that he meant. "Why do you say 'interesting' like that?"

It caught everyone's attention as they all turned to Booth to see him starting at Sweets. Sweets looked up from him papers back to Booth.

"Would you prefer I said 'ewe gross' or 'damn, that was dash cunning of him'?"

Booth furrowed his eye brows at a slight sense of back talk from the psychologist. Normally Sweets would have just apologized. The others went back to their observations over the body but Brennan took more time to watch Booth who was still looking at Sweets, who had gone back to looking at the folder and asking some minor questions.

"Does Angela have an ID yet?" Booth asked looking back at Cam now.

"She's working on it but she said it might be a while." Cam answered as Booth stepped back. He didn't want to go back to the office to wait so he decided they would stay here. Sweets noticed they weren't leaving so he looked around as though trying to decide what he wanted.

"Is there any coffee around?" Sweets said wondering why he had asked about coffee as though it were a stray dog wondering around the office yet to be located.

"It's three in the afternoon." Hodgins said. "A little late for coffee."

"Right." Sweets said and Booth wondered if Sweets was tired or had completely lost track of time.

"Well there's probably some up in the break area- dark, thick and cold." Cam offered.

"Hey, better than nothing." Sweets said joking and headed off in that direction. Booth wondered if he should follow but opted not to. He still felt like he owed Sweets an apology but he was too irritated at the moment for it to be sincere. He decided he would find the killer first, then they would talk. He felt better about that decision though something nagged at him at the same time.

"Sweets!" Hodgins said again and Sweets jerked his head up from the back of the couch in the break area. He looked down and was glad he hadn't spilled any coffee since he had drank the rest of the vile and old java.

"We've got an ID on the second victim." Hodgins said and headed back to Angela's office. Sweets yawned and nodded as he slowly stood up feeling sore and more exhausted than before he fell asleep. He noticed the sun was lower and looked at his watch. It was after six. He sighed as he hadn't planned on hanging around for three hours, or napping on the couch. He realized he didn't even remember falling asleep.

He put the empty mug back and headed to Angela's office where they were waiting on him. He tried to hide another yawn as Angela began.

"The victim's name is Jane Messner." Angela began and everyone caught the fact that the second victim and first shared the same first name. "Like our first victim she was an ex-con, recently released, worked nights but as a custodian. She was 28. She did have a sister but from the prison logs she never visited and she lives in the area so I'm guessing they were not close. So again, she has no family."

"Is this guy preying on women with no families?" Hodgins asked though he was more thinking to himself.

"It makes sense, the killer knows it might slow down the process of identifying the victim or would cause less of a stir because there would be few people to mourn their loss. Less family makes for less fuss." Sweets offered.

They nodded as Angela began to discuss more of the particular nature of the area the victim was found in. Booth found his thoughts wondering to how many of the group had a small amount of family but they all had someone. Except, of course Sweets, he thought. He didn't have any family, but he had the group. Right? He wondered if Sweets knew that. Suddenly he wondered what Sweets did for Christmas or any other holiday. Since the break up with Daisy he had been maybe more alone than Booth had stopped to think about.

"But we seem to be no farther with this victim that we were with the first victim." Brennan pointed out bringing Booth out of his thoughts.

"Well, tomorrow Sweets and I can go and interview the people she worked with." Booth suggested.

"Good luck." Angela said and Booth knew the sarcasm involved suggested more. "The reason she worked as a night custodian is because the people in the building don't want the cleaning staff seen. She had a key, she went in and cleaned, locked up and left. She most likely never saw anyone when she went in."

"So there are no witnesses, no family or friends who can attest to any problems she might have been having." Sweets clarified.

"None that I have found." Angela said.

"Interest…. Good to know." Sweets said instead. "Makes it a lot easier." He said looking back at the file. Booth was curious again, Sweets seemed a lot more sarcastic when he was tired.

"Sorry I don't have more guys." Angela said setting down her tablet and it meant she was ready to go and pick up Michael and unwind from another exhausting day.

"Yeah, hey, anyone want to get a drink?" Booth offered hoping to perk up the mood. It was nothing doing however, they were too defeated to go out. Booth and Sweets headed for the door as Sweets continued to read.

"Hey Sweets, you want me to just drop you at your place instead of going back to the office?" Booth offered.

"No, thanks though. I've got some work to finish up."

"Come on Sweets you look exhausted. How about calling it an early night."

Sweets smiled and it oozed a sense of sarcasm Booth had seen most of the day from him. "That would be nice Agent Booth but I have some matters to attend to that I was remiss in doing lately." Sweets looked over at Booth and added to appease him, "maybe tomorrow will go more smoothly."

Booth nodded but he had a funny feeling in his gut about tomorrow.


	4. Chapter 6

Chapter 6.

Booth strolled into the Hoover building and decided to pass by Sweets' office first, less he be distracted later.

He was not surprised to find the psychologist sitting at his desk with the door open. Booth strolled in and waited as Sweets finished his phone call. Booth was relieved to see that Sweets must have caught some sleep sometime last night and looked fresh in a new suit, only small circles around his eyes this morning.

"Yes, I'm sorry to have to do that but we will pick this up tomorrow. Yes, thank you again. Bye." Sweets said hanging up and looked at Booth who was curious about the conversation. Sweets smiled and made a few clicks on his computer.

"I rescheduled a patient till tomorrow." Sweets said put the last folder to the side. Booth noticed now that Sweets desk was clear of files that were there yesterday.

"Oh." Booth said unsure how to begin. It appeared Sweets was ready to do something but Booth was confused. "What about all your files."

"Well, I worked thru some last night and then I reassigned ones I thought other profilers could handle with some very specific suggestions to other agents. I pushed a few clients back to tomorrow. This way we can try and work on this current case with few distractions."

"Oh." Booth said again somewhat surprised. He was glad Sweets wasn't taking on the whole work load plus this case. "Good." Booth seemed to still be orienting himself. "We don't have a lot of leads, but there has to be something." He said trying to get his head in the case.

"I thought about that too. I think we should look at possible connections between these two women." Sweets suggested standing up and bringing along the only file left on the empty desk.

"You really think they are connected?" Booth asked as he walked with Sweets to the door.

"Yes, and I think there are more murders that have gone undetected."

"Oh Sweets, that's not a good start to my morning." Booth said with a slight laugh as they walked out the door.

While waiting on the elevator Agent Landry looked up from down the hall at Sweets and gave him a wave. Sweets looked up from his file and nodded back a hello. Booth turned around to see who Sweets was looking at and saw it was Landry. When Landry saw Booth he immediately stopped smiling and walked away. Sweets tried to hide a small grin that bordered between annoyance and amusement as they got in the elevator.

"So what other victims are we looking for?" Booth asked as the elevator descended.

"I'm hoping Angela can help us with that." Sweets said looking at the notes he put in the folder. "I would suggest starting with similar causes of death, disposal of the body in manners that suggested it was trash, and anyone named Jane."

"Dammit, Sweets was right." Angela said as Hodgins walked in.

"Is that a bad thing?" He asked wondering what she was thinking.

"Just when it's right about there being more victims."

"Old cases?" Hodgins asked hoping more bodies weren't coming their way.

"Yeah, dating back about two years too."

"And the latest two were a few weeks apart, he's escalating."

"Now you sound like Sweets." She mused.

"Hey, someone taking my job being me?" Sweets asked with a smile coming in Angela's office.

"Nah, I like being the bug guy and being married to Angela, no offense." Hodgins said kidding him.

"None taken, aside from the bugs I would switch places with you. What did you find?" Sweets said, not acknowledging the near flirt/compliment with Angela in his sentence.

Angela felt her cheeks warm for a second and went back to her tablet. She repeated what she had told Hodgins.

"When was the first body found?" Sweets asked.

"Jane Fisher, no criminal record, no family, 28, was found almost two years ago. She was found in a neighborhood dumpster."

"No record, does this fit his profile?" Hodgins asked.

"The ways he died certainly does." Angela said bringing up the photos of the body.

"If this was his first kill he could have been less specific, however, if I had to put money on it, I would say he thought she committed a crime and that she had not been punished for it." Sweets suggested.

"Is that why he kills?" Hodgins asked.

"Not sure yet. Who was next?"

"Suzie Jane, age 29, she was on probation but no record. Found 8 months after the first victim. Single, no family, you know the rest."

"Interesting that her last name is Jane, it was as though he wanted to find someone to fit his profile." Sweets observed.

"Next was Jane Doe. No identity was found for her. I'm somewhat assuming she fits this profile based on the injuries before death. Death about 6 months after the last."

"Really, no identity? Dentals, nothing?" Hodgins asked surprised.

"He wanted that." Sweets said looking at the case particulars on the screen. "So far he had done first name Jane, last name Jane, then unknown Jane. Who is the next Jane?"

"Jane Moloney, age 24, this one is interesting, he parents disappeared the same time she went missing but hey were never found. That was 4 months after the last one. The rest is the same, juvenile delinquent, same death."

"So this time he may have killer her, then her parents, but only wanted her found." Sweets observed focusing on the case.

"This is twisted." Hodgins said trying to absorb the facts of multiple murders.

"The last old case was Bobby Jane." Angela paused to let that sink in.

"Bobby?" Sweets asked surprised as Angela brought up the case on the screen. "Why did he move from his MO?"

"There must have been some rage involved because the face was mutilated." Angela said not wanting to look at the images on the screen. "The rest was the same."

"And that brings us to Jane Foyer a short time after that." Sweets said giving Angela a reason to remove the images.

"Yes, each murder gets closer together time wise as it gets more current." She explained.

"We'd better find him because based on this, he's due for another victim soon." Sweets said, his momentary respite from exhaustion returning now.


	5. Chapter 7

Chapter 7.

Booth joined them in Angela's office. He could tell by the solemn expressions that the news wasn't the most encouraging. He was sure Sweets gathered was important and would get a run down from him later. He was pretty sure Angela did not want to pour over a series of victims a second time.

Sweets was rubbing his forehead thinking of ideas. "Angela, can you pull up what crimes these people were involved with?"

"Sure." She said as several records came up on the screen.

"Breaking and entering, theft, grand theft auto, assault…" Hodgins read aloud.

"So no similarities." Sweets observed.

"Does there have to be?" Booth asked coming into the conversation.

"No, but many factors about this guy seem to have a pattern. There must be a pattern." Sweets said, his eyes flashing over the screen as though he were trying to discern the solution to a puzzle or a chess move. Something about watching Sweets gave Booth confidence. It was like watching a computer at work, ticking away as the possibilities were calculated.

"Try running the similarities on back grounds. No wait, were there any similarities in their cases, judges, public appointed attorneys?"

"They were different in each case, different district courts…" Angela returned the response.

"Locations the bodies were found?" Sweets said and Booth wondered now if the boy genius was just guessing.

"Uptown, downtown, the dump." Angela said pulling up a map with crime scene photos to the side. She sighed not so much because she was exhausted by searching but from the series of dead ends.

"There's just not enough with the case. Nothing to make it stand out." Hodgins moaned. "And I'm guessing that guy knew it. He's going to get away with this because he's mundane."

"Hey, we'll think of something." Booth said though he wasn't so sure anymore.

"You're kidding me." Sweets said his eyes no longer shifting on the screen.

"What?" Angela said reading the "aha" look on Sweets face.

"The trash service." He said pointing to the photos.

Hodgins, Angela and Booth looked more closely.

"What do you mean, one was residential, a commercial dumpster…"

"And all by the same company." Sweets said pointing to the world logo on the side of the trash reciprocals.

They looked at each crime scene photo and found the same similarity in each.

"Look at that." Booth said confirming the connection.

"My guess is that this guy works for the company. He's got a good knowledge of the routes, the pickup habits. He could be a dispatcher, someone who works at the company." Sweets proposed.

"That's a hell of a lot more than we had a day ago." Booth said as Angela pulled up the company's address. "Let's go."

Sweets and Booth said their goodbyes and headed for the trash service's main office.

"So originally we thought the guy wanted them to bleed out but got impatient and bashed their heads in. But if it's the same MO on each case, that can't be can it?" Booth asked.

"Hm?" Sweets asked starting out the window, his thoughts obviously elsewhere.

"What's up?" Booth asked.

"Nothing."

"If it was nothing you wouldn't have heard me."

"You asked about the cause of death. Yes, originally that would have been my assumption, but based on the number of times he, or she, but my guess is a he, has followed that same pattern there's a reason for it."

"Any ideas on what it would be?"

"I hate to speculate."

"Come on, you love to speculate." Booth joked. "Bones hates to speculate."

"Dr. Brennan would also say that my field of study is a waste of time."

Booth got the impression this is what was on Sweets distant mind a moment ago.

"Now, don't say anything to Bones, but think about it Sweets, you got us a lead when we hit a dead end with the bones."

Sweets let out a soundless laugh. "You're right, she can't know about that."

Booth saw Sweets smile fade and after yesterday's convesation with Agent Landry left Booth to think Sweets wondered about his place not only amount Bones constant reminders that his field was a waste of time but Booth hadn't helped either.

"Look Sweets…"

"Here, on the right." Sweets said pointing to the company. Booth didn't get to finish but as quickly as Sweets got out of the car he figured he didn't want to hear it.

_'So do you have any psychopaths in your employ who you suspect could be brutally torturing and murdering people for the last couple of years?' _It as the direct question in Sweets' mind but he knew he couldn't ask Mr. Mark Derringer, the manager of the local branch.

Booth was more suave with asking the same question but with an additional ten questions about strange behaviors and the like. Sweets felt bored waiting to get to the punch of it. He found Mr. Derringer to be helpful enough though he almost seemed a bit slow. Sweets found that strange based on his demanding managerial role. Mr. Derringer handed over a list of all his current employees and the ones that had left within the last two years.

Booth looked at Sweets who he realized was on cruise control and wasn't going to ask any questions as Sweets wondered around the office. Booth kept at the questions as Sweets looked around the open office space. He saw a large map on the wall, presumably their service area. There had been pins in it but were gone leaving behind several holes.

He walked over to the side away from the empty reception desk where Emily, as her name plate suggested was out for the day. He noticed the pristine office was separated by a door that led to "the back." It was a distinct separation from the front office to the back. Sweets wondered how many of the workers here abhorred the obvious lack of welcome to the front.

"Well Mr. Derringer we won't take up any more of your time." Booth said pulling out a card to hand to him with a reminder that if anything else came to mind to call him.

"Can we see your back area?" Sweets said pointing to the door. Booth was surprised that Sweets was now back with the game again and wondered what was up with the many moods of Sweets lately and even more so, why he wanted to visit the dump.

"Uh sure." Mr. Derringer said getting up. Sweets noticed he was hesitant. He wondered if there were some practices he would prefer the authorities not see. "Anything for the FBI."

Mr. Derringer collected some keys and went to the door by Sweets. He took out a key to open it. Sweets raised an eyebrow at the fact he literally locked his employees out.

"I don't know what you want to see." Mr. Derringer said leading them thru a break area that was empty at the time. Booth and Sweets walked slowly thru the break area seeing the lockers of the employees and wanted to see if there was anything surprising.

It proved to not yield much as the break area was disgusting. In that it was old and hardly cleaned. It wasn't much surprise to think they would hardly spend much time "relaxing" in here.

The followed the manager out to the back where a combination of trucks sat along with a large fence surrounding piles of trash being shuffled around by large caterpillars. Booth was still curious why Sweets was fascinated by trash today.

"So when a truck returns does it go straight in the dump?" Sweets asked watching the machines work.

"Yeah, it's pretty simple." The manager said and Sweets nodded.

Someone had come in the front office and the manager seemed anxious to return to them and not have them wonder to the back. Booth was happy to leave the smelly place but Sweets was still looking around.

"I'll, uh, be right back." Mr. Derringer said running back to the front. Sweets continued to survey the area where trucks would normally park but were out on duty now. There was an area where it appeared they were worked on.

"Sweets!" Booth shouted as Sweets headed over to the service area. "What are we doing? It stinks here. What are we looking for?"

"One of the victims parents were missing. It suggests the killer didn't want them to be found the way one of the Jane's were. He would have disposed of them elsewhere."

"Yeah and?" Booth said as they got to where Sweets was wanting to go.

"And everything else this killer does revolves around trash. He's comfortable with this place. And this is a pretty large container. The only large container on the place." Sweets said looking at the large metal container in front of them. "He said we could come back here. He invited us right?" Sweets added to answer Booth's question of a search warrant.

Booth sighed as he climbed the few steps up to the metal lid. He pulled but it appeared to be stuck. Sweets climbed the few steps and pulled as well though he doubted he was adding much muscle. He did notice a corroded seal and Booth picked up a screwdriver and wedged it in and after a grunt popped the lid open.

"Hey what are you guys doing up there?!" Mr. Derringer shouted as he ran over.

The lid popped open and the smell was so overwhelming that Booth and Sweets both had to turn away. Though he tried to hold it in, Sweets lost his lunch over the back of the elevated stand while Booth swallowed his back down and then wished he hadn't. Booth turned to shut the lid but first saw the distinctive image of a skull looking back up at him.

Cam, Brennan and Hodgins showed up in full suits carrying cases towards the container. Cam twitched her nose as the combination of corpses with what chemicals were in the container were hard to handle.

"How did you guys find this?" Cam asked as they approached Sweets and Booth.

"Sweets figured it out." Booth said, happy to give credit where it was due.

"A hunch?" Brennan asked and Sweets immediately rolled his eyes at her suggestion this must be a lucky guess. Instead he choose to train his eyes on the workers who had returned for the day and were lined up on the other side of the police tape. Deciding the smell had to be better there than elsewhere Sweets left to talk to them and Booth needed little excuse to join him.

After a few minutes of talking to the guys who worked there they had little to say about seeing anything strange. Booth asked them questions while Sweets studied their faces for their reactions.

"Booth." Brennan said approaching them. "I think we have something." She said vaguely as to not say too much in front of possible suspects.

The trio headed back over to the container where Cam and Hodgins still had on masks.

"Be careful, someone vomited over there." Brennan said nodding to the direction.

"That was me." Sweets confessed not wanting to look up.

"I don't blame you." Hodgins said having taken his mask off and joining them. "The combination of whatever is in there is rancid. We'll run some tests back at the lab of what is in there."

"Yes I would suggest we take the entire tank back if possible, the remains are in sections. But from what I have seen so far the bones we have removed are suggestive of the parents of Jane Doe." Brennan said.

"Okay great. Let's wrap this up, take it to the Jeffersonian." Booth shouted to the nearby waiting F.B.I. crew waiting. He ignored the look on their faces in which they wondered how to do that.

"Hey, I'm hungry, have you eaten lunch yet?" Brennan asked Booth.

"No, but how can you be hungry, can't you smell that?" Booth asked.

"Yes, but I'm still in need of…"

"Okay, I know. Sweets, what do you say, lunch at the diner, replace what you lost?" Booth teased.

"Ha ha." Sweets said sarcastically.

"Really Sweets, you should eat something. Studies show…"

"Thank you Dr. Brennan." Sweets said cutting her off. "But I think I'll just catch a ride back to the office with one of the other agents." Sweets said and left for the group nearby.

"What did I say?" Brennan asked as they began to walk away.

"Oh Bones, where do I start?" Booth said almost under his breath as they walked to the car.


	6. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Sweets stared at his computer as a foul mood, empty stomach and tired eyes were impeding his progress on building a profile on their killer.

The late afternoon was apparent as many people were heading home. Sweets wrestled with the idea of going home versus staying to catch a killer. Maybe not tonight, he mused, but he hated the idea of someone else dying while they figured it out.

Sweets was about to doze off with increasingly heavy eyes when his cell rang. He sprung to a sitting position and rubbed an eye while he picked it up, silently yawning while he did so.

"Sweets!" Booth said excitedly causing Sweets to bolt upright knowing something was up. "I think we've got something here. Hodgins found some dirt that led to some other stuff." Sweets smiled when he could hear Hodgins in the back ground shouting the particulates names. "I think we have an idea where this guy might be. Angela found an abandoned gas station that matches up with the stuff Hodgins found." Again Hodgins shouted names as Booth was distancing himself from the noise.

"That's good." Sweets said and he wasn't sure why but this didn't feel like end of the case.

"Not exactly. Angela's been monitoring the missing person's database for a while. A few hours ago a missing person report was filed on an Emily Jane."

Sweets sighed inwardly as he spoke what they both knew. "And based on the evidence he's only keeping them alive a few hours."

"She might still be alive now. I don't know. Look, I thought you know, with Landry you went in the field and helped out. I thought maybe…"

"I'm on my way." Sweets said as he scribbled down the address Booth was giving him. He picked up his gun out of the drawer and headed out of the office.

It only took maybe a half hour to get to the address Booth has listed. The sun was toying with the notion of settling down but not without a fight fit like a toddler not wanting to go to bed. Sweets had pulled down the visor and wondered idly where his sunglasses had gone as he started at the bright, late light.

When he pulled up he saw Brennan and Booth walking around the outside of the old gas station. It was on a two lane highway, one that once saw the busy roads of early travel when the station was once probably very busy. Now however it was the target for kids to break what little glass was left.

As Sweets got out he saw why they were there without back up. There was little chance that anyone was being held here. While it was abandoned it wasn't exactly a shack in the woods. They hoped this might lead them to another location. They would eventually be right, but in the worst of ways.

"Dr. Brennan, Agent Booth." Sweets greeted them upon approach. Brennan was taking samples of something on the ground by the pumps.

"I don't get it, what did Hodgins find that would make this place so interesting?" Booth said exasperated as though he were disappointed in their lack of findings.

"Well, Hodgins found particulates under two of the victim's collar that was a combination of gasoline not used since this station was last opened and the excrement of a…."

"I got it Bones. Somehow the victims were here."

"All of them?" Sweets pondered mostly to himself.

"Who knows we're still waiting on the evidence from the other cases to even show up." Booth said again exasperated at how slow things were moving.

Sweets circled around to the back of the building. He smiled as he heard Booth and Brennan continue to argue about something insignificant. A flat surface among growth caught Sweets attention as he walked towards it.

"Booth?" Sweets said as he walked closer to it.

"Bones just stop, let me see what Sweets found." Sweets could hear Booth say in a distance.

Sweets wasn't sure why but he felt his heart start to race as he approached what was a trap door among the earth. Most likely it was a storm shelter from days old but Sweets drew his gun as the hair on his neck began to stand up. He liked to listen to his intuition.

Sweets leaned down to open the door but looked over his shoulder to see if Booth was coming before he opened it all the way. Before he could look back at the door he was crouching over, it flew open suddenly catching Sweets on the chin and sent him backwards. He trained his gun on the man scuttling out before him but the afternoon sun stung him in the eye. When he shifted positions he saw the man, whose face was obscured by the blinding sun.

"Drop it." He ordered.

Sweets hesitated but he saw the gun waving at him again. Knowing Booth was near, he obliged.

"Hey, stop right there!" The man shouted pointing his gun at Booth who had not had time to draw his own.

"Hey buddy, what are you doing here, what do you want?" Booth said in an attempt to calm the gunman down.

Sweets shifted his position slightly to see the man was Mr. Derringer from earlier. His slow and almost goofy face was devoid of that now as a more sinister and determined look had taken over. Brennan soon approached but stopped when she saw the gun.

The man began to laugh. "I wondered who you would bring." He said looking at Brennan and back at Sweets. "Your partner or your girl." He laughed again. "But you brought both!"

"What are you talking about?" Booth said stalling, hoping for an opening to do something, anything.

"You, you show up here with the kid today but you left with the lady. I was couldn't quite figure out who was your favorite."

"What made you think we'd come here?" Booth asked trying to determine what the guy's plans were as he made his way over to Sweets who was closest to him.

"Of course you would come. Smarty pants here figured out where my stash was in the chemical tank. It was only a matter of time till you got here. And if not, hell I just wasted an evening waiting. But it was worth it." He said standing behind Sweets and putting a gun to his head after he pulled him to his feet. "The look on our faces was worth it."  
Booth slowly moved his hand towards his gun but he stopped as Derringer saw him try it and pressed the gun closer to Sweets head.

"There's three of us Derringer, what's your plan?" Booth asked.

"You know, I was just thinking about that. See I've got the gun, so I'm not too worried, but what happens next is up to you Agent Booth." He walked Sweets closer to Brennan who stayed in place. She didn't want to make any moves that would cost Sweets his life.

Derringer stopped and stood behind Brennan and Sweets. Now if Booth took a shot it would have to come thru one of them.

"Choose." Derringer said as Sweets and Brennan stood side by side his gun drawn between them. Brennan and Sweets looked at each other from the corner of their eyes.

"What?" Booth asked at the ludicrous notion.

"Choose, your friend or your girl. I've seen you with both and how you are around them so I assume that is what they are right? You get one and I get one."

"Me." Sweets said quickly having not calculated any other ways out of the scenario. "He picks me." Sweets said not looking at Booth. He knew Booth wouldn't want to choose but he would, or Sweets told himself. He just cut to the chase.

Derringer laughed coming closer to Sweets and Brennan while Booth stood in surprise at the fact Sweets had so quickly made the answer for him. Booth didn't want to pick at all and wasn't prepared for the ultimatum however the fact Sweets wouldn't look at him told him a lot more than he had ever guessed, as though Sweets thought right away that he hadn't a chance in the consideration.

"I'll right I'll take it." Derringer laughed again and struck Brenan in the head with the butt of his gun before any of them saw it coming. Brennan fell to the ground but as Sweets and Booth went to make a move Derringer had the gun to Sweets temple causing them to freeze. Sweets stole a look from the corner of his eye at Brennan who despite a bleeding temple appeared to be okay.

"Time to go." Derringer said with the gun to the back of Sweets head that Sweets knew he had no chance to make a move for it.

Quickly Derringer pushed Sweets back to the front of the gas station. Thru the broken glass Sweets saw a quick glance of Booth helping Brennan up. They reached Sweets car and Derringer pushed Sweets into the driver's seat while he got in the back seat and instructed him to drive. Sweets could feel the gun never more than a few inches from his head.

They drove a mile down the road with Sweets running options thru his head of slamming on the breaks or jumping from the car. He was the driver of the car, he should be in control he told himself, but the gun at the back of his head suggested otherwise. He weighed the options of being shot in the back of the head and falling from a rapidly moving vehicle. Before he could decide Derringer instructed him to make a sharp turn. Once they pulled off the road Sweets saw what he felt he knew was coming, a truck in the road ahead, presumably Derringer's.

"Get out." Derringer said opening his door. From the corner of his eye Sweets saw the gun constantly trained on his head. He knew Derringer wouldn't think twice of killing him, but whether that was now or later he wasn't sure. "NOW!" Derringer shouted again but Sweets left his hands on the wheel wondering how quickly he could put the car in reverse before Derringer got off a shot.

Sweets waited and Derringer went for the door handle taking his full concentration off his gun for a second and Sweets threw the car in reverse and began to push on the gas pedal when the gun when off. The loud bang and the shattering of the window glass made Sweets ears ring to deafness as his head began to pound.

Sweets didn't feel the car roll back into a tree and the airbag explode when it hit it. He did see the white bag deflate before him with streaks and patches of red on it. He wondered for a second in a haze what it was and why it smelled like iron. He was pulled from that thought for when he felt a rush of air as the door pulled open and he was pulled roughly from the car.

He still couldn't hear anything but felt thud before the lights went dark and Sweets knew it wasn't the sun setting.


	7. Chapter 9

_ASC: Sorry this took a while, it was on a different computer!_

Chapter 9.

Booth had gotten Brennan on her feet but by the time they got to his SUV Sweets car was long out of sight. Angela searched for Sweets cell phone signal and found it quickly but as Booth feared it was not quickly enough as nearly twenty minutes had passed.

Booth was further distressed to find that while they were waiting, the car had only been a mile away. He slammed his door shut in anger as he pulled up behind Sweets crashed vehicle.

Brennan held Booth's handkerchief to her head still to stop the bleeding. She knew this was not the best medical method but right now she found herself far more interested in finding Sweets. She found her heart racing and what she knew was panic coming upon her as she approached the vehicle.

"Dammit, dammit, dammit." Booth said under his breath.

"Booth." Brennan said standing next to the opened door.

"What?" He asked and saw Brennan's color fade as she looked in. The words were caught in her throat and she couldn't say them. Booth didn't see this look on her face often so he quickly approached the vehicle to see what she saw, blood, on the airbag.

Sweets had headaches before but this one was a real doosey. No amount of loud death metal could hold a candle to the thumping going on between his ears. Sweets lifted his neck which hurt and was incredibly sore from his head hanging to the side. He was slumped up against a wall, sitting on a cold hard cement floor.

When some of the pounding subsided he tried to open his eyes in what was a mostly dark room with little to see. He went to raise his hands to his face to check, heck, maybe to see if his face was still there. It hurt so bad he wasn't so sure if it had been blown off though he knew that wasn't logical. He assumed the bullet must have grazed against his temple which would account for the blood he could smell on his shirt and jacket.

His arms felt heavy and he noticed they moved together. He pulled his wrists in opposite directions but they moved together and he realized they had been tied together, very tightly with a zip tie. As he moved the plastic cut into his wrists hurting more and cutting off more circulation, in turn making his arms heavier and more useless, his hands near completely numb.

While it was fuzzy he remembered how he had gotten here, and the psycho who had bought him here, and what that psycho was capable of and it was in his professional opinion it was time to go. Unable to put weight on his hands to stand his pushed his back into the wall and getting his legs and feet underneath him he tried to balance enough to push his back up the wall into a standing position.

The room was becoming clearer as he paused to take a breath having been nearly winded from the climb to a standing position. His aching head made all movement increasingly difficult over a normal day. He wanted to rest longer but he knew without a phone or car, or little evidence from previous cases, no one was going to find him, outside of a dumpster.

He saw a window high above, the only source of light with moonlight trickling in. The room looked to be a storage shed with a lot of boxes and storage around him. He was assessing how a no armed assisted climb to the window would work when the metal door creaked open and blinding lights being flicked on. Sweets quickly closed his eyes out of reaction as a pain from the bright florescent lights shot a pain thru his head.

"What the…" Derringer said as he quickly ran towards Sweets. Sweets tried to will his eyes open quickly to prepare but physically his eyes didn't want to. By the time he peeled one open part way it was too late. Derringer punched Sweets in an upper cut on the right side of his ribs with one swing and the same to the left with his other. Unable to prepare for the blow they came as a total surprise to Sweets who immediately collapsed to the floor.

Sweets could vaguely hear Derringer shuffle around and again wanted to push his eyes open to see what he was doing but the chest pain coupled with the head ache made any cognitive task impossible.

"I don't know what to do with you Dr. Sweets." Derringer said pausing from moving something along the ground. "You see you're not my type. Not unless you had a name change."

"Why, what's with that anyway?" Sweets said coughing between words wondering if his insides were coming out because it felt like it. He knew he didn't sound like multi degreed psychologist but he didn't care right now.

"What, with Jane?" Derringer said laughing. "Oh wouldn't you like to know, you shrinks, you're all alike. You want me to talk, tell you my dark secrets."

"No, I'd almost prefer not to know you freak." Sweets said in what he meant to be an internal thought but based on the fact the room was silent and Derringer had stopped what he was doing, he was pretty sure it was out loud.

"Charge a lot for your sessions do you Dr. Sweets?" Derringer said them went back to shuffling around some boxes. "You must be pretty good Dr. Sweets, I mean, who would have found those bodies right? Would have taken that _friend _of yours months."

Sweets noticed the emphasis he put on the word "friend."

"Agent Booth would have found you." Sweets said trying to shift so he was sitting more upright though moving hurt.

"Maybe, maybe after a few more bodies. But you, you're a smart one. I get that he doesn't appreciate you very much." Derringer said continuing work that Sweets couldn't see.

Sweets wasn't in the mood to discuss his friendship with Booth that even he did not understand himself at times.

"I mean, you seemed to offer yourself up fast. Either you're extremely brave….or you knew he wasn't going to pick you. Saving you _and he_ the embarrassment of that."

"Well you've got me there Mr. Derringer, I'm extremely brave." Sweets said sarcastically trying to block out the nagging thoughts the alternative brought to his mind.

"We'll see about that kid." Derringer said with a small laugh full of acid and hate.

"What about you, you see yourself as a brave man? One who murders people when they are incapacitated?"

"I think you know why I do it Dr. Sweets." Derringer said and this time Sweets realized Derringer was close as his voice grew louder.

"You're a vigilante. Seeking justice when justice failed."

"See, the FBI is really going to suffer without you there. Think of all the lives you could have saved, I hope Booth picked the right one, oh wait, you, I hope you picked the right one. You know if you had given him a chance he would have picked himself."

Sweets stayed silent and Derringer laughed. "But you knew that didn't you. Wow, you are good. Let's see you value his life more than your own."

"And you see yourself as a god. You make them pay for their crimes but you don't let them suffer in your mind, so you bash their head in for a 'sweet surrender' as it is." Sweets eyes were almost half way open now as he watched Derringer stand up and he knew he was right.

"I'm not **a **god, Dr. Sweets. That would suggest I am one of many. I am not. I am a 'just god', I pick up where justice left off, and put things back in order. I lead them to the slumber they should have, just like Emily over there."

Sweets looked to his right and saw the dead eyes of a young woman looking back at him, blood streaming from her arms.

"I was keeping tabs on her but she bled out before I could get back her to finish her the right way. Do you feel guilty about that? She suffered longer than she should have, because of you."

"And what was her crime?" Sweets asked unable to unlock his half opened eyes from the corpse's eternal stare.

"She was stealing from my company." Derringer said as though the answer were as plain as day. Sweets recalled the empty receptionist desk and the Emily name plate sitting on the desk. He very much doubted Emily had done such a thing. From his profile so far, most of Derringer's victims had committed minor crimes if any. Sweets felt his stomach turn as he knew this guy was really nuts, he was making up crimes to fit his victims. He was far from reality and therefore justifying anything he did was acceptable to him.

Derringer stuffed Emily in the bag the rest of the way and loaded her into a rolling trash cart. Sweets wanted to throw up at the sight but he tensed as Derringer came back to him.

"You know Dr. Sweets, you psychologists are always trying to get in our heads, connect with us. You can't get in my head, no, no, no, shrinks have been trying since I was a kid. But all the Janes, you should know them, connect with them." Derringer said slowly as he pulled a long knife off the table.

"Feel what they feel." Derringer said rolling up Sweets sleeves that were too heavy for him to protest. Derringer couldn't get the fabric to roll very far. "Oh well, good thing the knife is sharp." Derringer said with a creepy smile as he cut Sweets arm above his elbow leaving a three inch gash. He did it to the other arm and again above his wrist. Derringer brought the knife to Sweets neck and looked angry. Sweets breathing was heavy but he clenched his jaw determined not to scream as Derringer no doubt wanted him to.

"Nothing to say Dr. Sweets?"

Sweets spit in his eye. He figured he was going to die anyway so he was going down swinging. He had never done that before and while juvenile he found it enormously satisfying.

Derringer's face turned red instantly and Sweets mentally prepared to be taking his exit when Derringer breathed a long sigh.

"Dr. Sweets I am a patient man. And you obviously need to suffer a little more." Derringer ran the blade along each side of Sweets abdomen leaving two very long marks. Sweets light blue shirt instantly began to soak up blood.

"You see, I'm not a smart man like you, I don't know where those arteries are that matter so much. So how about we just start here and there and see which ones make you bleed out. Maybe it will be hours, maybe days. Won't it be interesting to know?"

Derringer looked like he was genuinely curious. "But I don't think you will be getting the sweet surrender treatment as you call it." Derringer said wiping Sweets spit off his face. "Not after that."

Derringer turned and headed for the door and turned off the lights. Sweets sat in the dark feeling dizzy now and wondered who long this would last, how long he would last, and lastly, what he was holding on to last for.


	8. Chapter 10

ASC: On a roll now!

Chapter 10.

Back at the lab the team was abuzz with activity. They exchanged brief glances with each other to remind each other to think of this as case. They held within the passion of finding Sweets but if they thought too much of their young friend, they wouldn't be able to work, and work would save him.

"What did they find?" Angela asked Hodgins who was working feverishly in his area. Hodgins hadn't wanted to take the time to leave the lab to check out the scene where Sweets car was found. Instead he sent Oliver Wells. Though annoying he was brilliant and Hodgins needed brilliant.

Wells may not have been close to Sweets but he saw hot rattle the team was and asked no questions why he was being sent to the field at ten at night.

"Sweetie." Angela said trying to get Hodgins attention as he had not heard her.

"Oh, what, sorry, I'm just…"

"I know, me too, but what did they find, I want more to do too."

"Yeah, well I wasn't sure it was worth going out there, I thought I could do more here. But Wells did find something interesting, let me finish running this test and I'll know…"

"Booth took Brennan by the hospital to get her checked out. She's fine and on her way here." Angela said giving an update to Cam who also came in the room.

Cam glanced back at Fisher and Viziri, interns who were working late, also without complaint, over the previous bodies that had been found. Looking for any clue that could link those bodies to finding Sweets.

Cam came back to the conversation and nodded, glad Brennan was okay.

"And I'm guessing Booth had agents on Derringer's place?"

"Yes, they are going thru there now. They know to report any findings back here but so far it sounds like the guy's place is freaky clean sort of place."

"We know he holds the victims for a while some place, and that is obviously not where he lives. We should have time right?" Angela said voicing what they were all thinking.

"Except Sweets would say he doesn't fit the killer's profile." Hodgins pointed out pressing more buttons on his machine.

"Then why take him?" Angela asked trying to make sense of it all.

"That's something you'd have to ask Sweets. He's the mind guy." Hodgins said though his voice had hints of anger and sadness to it.

Angela started to say something more but Hodgins let out an "aha!" that caused her to pause and she as glad. Her next "what if" was a dark one.

Hodgins brought some images up on a screen that were scientific in nature.

"Okay so the particulates found before in the victims collars suggests it was there because they were dragged, it got caught. That led us to the gas station. Wells found, and WOW for him finding this, and also bravo to Booth for keeping everyone out of the tire tracks, but he found this." Hodgins pointed to the screen but didn't bother giving them a name they wouldn't know and he would only have to define later. They were in a hurry for Sweets sake so he cut the lesson with a sigh.

"It's coal, old, old coal." He said in laymen terms. "That's what Wells found at the scene."

"Old coal, old gas, what does this mean?" Angela asked confused.

"Old refineries." Cam said coming to the conclusion.

The trio set out for Angela's office where a series of taps on her tablet brought up a map with locations on it. "I've got six possible locations that fit the most likely radius. We are looking for with these items in one way or another there."

Cam's phone rang and she confirmed it was Booth. "We may have something here Booth." She said in a tone that suggested he be quiet so they could figure it out.

"How do we narrow down between the six old mines?" Cam asked and Booth listened in for the details of what they were talking about.

"The one victim had traces of shinny blue flakes, we had set it aside for further inspection, had you determined it's composition Dr. Hodgins?" Cam asked.

"Briefly, it was another particulate of coal." Hodgins said still watching the screen for an idea to pop out at him.

"Blue coal?" Angela asked confused. Hodgins turned quickly when she said that.

"Anthracite!" He said excitedly.

"Yes, coal you said that Dr. Hodgins." Cam stated fairly confused.

"Blue Coal, it was a really popular and trademarked brand of anthracite. I remember my grandfather used to love listening to Lamont Cranston as the Shadow and it was sponsored by Blue Coal. They mined the coal and sprayed a blue dye at the mine before they shipped it to the north eastern markets. It gives off a blue flame. The only location matching this would suggest this one." Hodgins said pointing.

"Booth, I have a possible location for you." Cam said while Booth told Bones.

"How would Derringer know about that place?" Angela asked before sending the address to Booth.

"Maybe they called him for a trash pickup. It looks like a lot of this mine is being repurposed as a museum now." Hodgins suggested as they looked at the images of the location on Angela's screen.

"Call us soon Seeley." Cam said before hanging up the phone. It didn't get past Angela & Hodgins that she had called him Seeley.

"That's about an hour from here Booth." Brennan said uploading the address to the in car GPS.

"Yeah I know Bones." Booth said selecting a number on his phone to call."

"So are we waiting for a team to assemble first?" She asked knowing who he was going to call.

Booth looked at her nervously. The large Band-aid on her head still made him stomach turn. He thought of the other victims and was sure Sweets was no exception from them. He pushed on the gas because an hour was just too long.


	9. Chapter 11

Chapter 11.

"Hey." A voice said thru a thick and heavy fog that laced Sweets ears. "You still hanging on?" The voice laughed as though it found the question deeply humorous.

Sweets mumbled something that consisted of an insult and profanity but he wasn't sure how it sounded or if it ever left his lips. He smelled the aroma of garbage and figured Derringer returned from Emily's body dump.

"Yeah you don't look so good. Not sure what else I can cut here." He said looking at the blood on the knife in his hand.

Sweets had felt his subconscious try to rouse him when new stinging pains rang out from his shoulder and then the middle of his chest. If there were more cuts he was hardly aware of them. The cuts varied from shallow to moderately deep, enough to keep him alive and bleed slowly, but in all would add up to a definite end. Derringer smiled as he liked his cuts, he knew them well but now he seemed to be growing bored.

"If you aren't going to talk to me Dr. Sweets then I have to consider our session over."

Sweets opened an eye and wondered to himself if and should, he be able to muster the strength to talk to Derringer if he even wanted to. He wasn't sure how much time he would need to buy. The Jeffersonian team would know he was missing, but what was the likelihood of them locating him? He chastised himself for that. He knew how smart they all were, he began to wonder if all was not lost.

Sweets attempted to push himself into a more professional sitting position though it was near impossible as his arms no longer felt like they were attached, numb from the bleeding and the circulation being cut off at the wrists.

"Well Mr. Derringer. What would you like to talk about today?" He knew he sounded sarcastic, and horrible. The loss of blood was pulling any hydration from his body and his voice was increasingly hoarse.

"Ah Dr. Sweets, it's so nice to see you again. What would you like to talk about? My family perhaps?"

"You mean how they are the reason for how you are today? Tell me Mr. Derringer, was your mother named Jane, your sister, or your first psychologist?"

Derringer's smile faded and Sweets knew he was right.

"You said I was smart Mr. Derringer." Sweets said finding him questioning in a way he normally may not have. Maybe he was hallucinating he wondered to himself, but whatever it was, it was working for him. Or so he thought.

"I don't want to talk anymore. Look, you, you and your fancy education!" Derringer was clearly coming unhinged. Sweets sort of enjoyed it except for the fact he would now become unpredictable. "You don't know me. You don't know what it's like to grow up in a messed up home!"

Sweets dark chocolate eyes became cold and serious. "I would happily wager a substantial amount on that." He continued to stare at Derringer who seemed confused.

Sweets found it ironic that the new cuts on his skin were done without knowledge of the scars hidden still under the fabric on his back. Idly he thought of this as child's play from what he had been thru as a child.

However, he had to admit the present pain was pretty intense right now and the sense he was becoming lighter, as though he were separating form him his body were taking on a euphoric approach. He wasn't scared, he was tired, and this change was a strange sort of relief.

Sweets was pulled from his revelation when he saw that Derringer was now shouting with himself. _This can't be good _Sweets told himself. He was right as Derringer returned with the knife looking at Sweets in eyes that were fading.

"You may be smart you know, but you didn't keep me from leaving here and killing someone else. You got yourself killed and you've got nothing to show for it." Derringer raised the knife to the left side of Sweets neck. "What kind of smart man dies alone?" Derringer slowly slid the blade along Sweets neck smiling as Sweets winced in pain as he did so. His voice now gone too hoarse, he had nothing to cry out with.

"Goodbye Dr. Sweets. It might take a while, so think about everything as you lie here, die here, alone. I've got another Jane to meet."

Sweets felt nauseous as he heard the metal door close. He wanted to grab his neck and apply pressure but his arms still wouldn't move. He turned his head to the side allowing his head to create pressure on his neck though the attempt would be futile as the end result was going to be the same. He just wondered how long it would take, the blissfulness he was feeling earlier gone, now left with only pain, an intense coldness and the feeling he was above all else, alone.

* * *

"How much longer Booth?" Brennan asked and immediately felt like a child asking if they were there yet.

"We're about twenty minutes ahead of the team. It took them some time to assemble." Booth answered her.

Brennan looked down at the GPS to see they were ten minutes away from the address. She also deduced from Booth's speedometer that they were not necessarily going to wait for the team to arrive either. Brennan was glad, she could not describe it without giving into some of Sweets ill-conceived phycology, but she had would he would call a bad feeling. She felt the urge, presumably the same one Booth had, to hurry.

They pulled up at the location to see several buildings much to their dismay. Booth drove into the area and looked around for a guess, any guess to where Sweets might be.

The buildings didn't have any lights on them and Booth was guided only by moonlight. He told himself they would just find Sweets in one of the buildings, tied up in a corner and they would take him home and he'd sleep in tomorrow. Booth knew it wasn't the case but he wanted it to be.

Brennan was on the phone to the team who stood in Angela's office waiting, looking over all the evidence again.

"Dr. Brennan!" Cam nearly shouted into the phone after jumping at its ring. "Did you find..."

"There's dozens of buildings here Cam. Is there _anything_ you can tell us to narrow it down? It will take a great deal of time to search each one." Brennan knew it was a stretch but she was feeling anxious though she hid it well.

Cam repeated the question to the group who immediately went back to their notes and ran thru their thoughts. They had been running on high all night despite the midnight hour.

"Bones!" Booth shouted having pointed at one of the buildings. Brennan had a look on her face questioning why that one.

Booth started to walk up to the building and pointed to the trash can outside. "None of the other buildings have one, all the buildings are abandoned and this is new, it's also Derringer's company."

Booth pulled on the door but it wouldn't open. He backed up to see in the dim light there was a padlock on the outside.

"Sweets?" He called but heard nothing in response. Booth backed up as Brennan opened the lid of the trash and quickly closed it.

"What is that smell?" Booth asked.

"There's no body, but there was at least one in there I assure you." Brennan said closing the lid.

Both felt angry now as he repeated to himself that it had better not been Sweets in there last. He drew his gun and pushed Brennan around the building to avoid a ricochet off the metal door. An ace shot later and the padlock was destroyed. Booth pulled on the door and rushed in the room.

"Sweets? Sweets?" He asked again though he figured they must have the wrong building after all. He was turning to leave when Brennan flipped on one of the light switches. It wasn't as bright with just one switch on but Booth still squinted as the light among the former dark was intense. "Bones, why?" He asked rubbing his eyes.

"Booth…" She said and he felt her rush past him. He forced his eyes open to see her running around him and some other drums to see what had drawn her attention.

Brennan was already at Sweets side when Booth came around the corner. He didn't realize he had taken a step back in surprise when he saw Sweets. He was slumped against the wall, blood on his dark gray suit at various angles from the various cuts.

"Booth!" Brennan said and Booth realized it must not have been the first time.

"Yeah." He said coming closer. "Is he uh…"

"I feel a faint pulse." She said resting her fingers on the right side of Sweets neck.

Booth pulled out his phone to call for an ambulance, an agent down and gave them their location. He put the phone on speaker so he could set the phone down and help Brennan. He noticed Sweets head looked uncomfortable so he moved forward to adjust it.

"No! No!" Brennan said taking his hand away. "He has a cut here on his neck. Dr. Sweets is applying his own pressure, keeping the bleeding under control."

Brennan was answering very clinically as to help Sweets effectively.

"He slit his throat?" Booth asked filled with rage and anger that he was late.

"Not exactly. If Derringer had wanted to slit his throat he would have from the front and Sweets would have been dead quickly. My guess is he wanted him to suffer more slowly by bleeding out from this series of cuts." Breannan said as she looked over the cuts on Sweets chest to make sure he did not have severe chest trauma that could be affecting his heart directly. Booth tried vainly to keep his hands from shaking with anger that Derringer did this.

"Is he going to make it?" Booth asked quietly as he tried to keep everything he was feeling in check.

"I don't know. He has a lot of punctures and it would appear he has lost a great deal of blood."

"Sweets, can you hear me?" Booth asked putting a hand on Sweets shoulder.

Sweets lips moved but no sound came out.

"Sweets, we're here buddy." Booth said moving a little closer and trying not to lose it that now that his shoes were in Sweets blood. He vaguely hoped that Derringer would walk back in the door, shooting him would be merciful considering what was going thru Booth's mind.

"Sweets." Booth said wanting to try and keep the young psychologist conscious on at least some level.

Sweets instinctively raised his head as he tried to come to and blood began to run from his neck again. Booth reacted immediately and put his hand over the cut on Sweets neck and tried to put pressure over it but not choke him to death.

"Sweets, please stay with us, the ambulance is on its way." Brennan said pulling Sweets neck tie off to use as a tunicate on Sweets arm.

"Booth." Brennan said taking a visible swallow as she did. "Do you have a pocket knife?"

"No, why?" He asked turning to see what she saw. He instantly paled at the sight of Sweets near blue hands that lacked circulation and ragged damaged wrists. He figured it was from Sweets pulled at the ties probably while being tortured. His was grinding his teeth so hard he was sure his gums were about to bleed.

Brennan jumped up to look on the counter for something to cut it with. She saw a knife with blood on it and while she didn't want to compromise the evidence she took it back over to Sweets knowing it was more necessary to cut the bondage.

Sweets barely opened an eye when he caught a glimpse of the blade and shuddered.

"It's okay Sweets, it's just Bones." Booth said holding Sweets arms at the shoulder so he wouldn't move. "She just wants to cut the ties off, okay, understand?" Sweets gave a slight nod but his hands began to tremble as Brennan brought the blade toward his skin. She concentrated as hard as she could to not cut Sweets and only the zip tie.

"Please hurry Bones." Booth said not looking at her. She took a deep breath and cut upwards away from Sweets skin. Sweets sucked in air as the pressure against the ties was extremely painful.

"Done." She announced and Booth immediately put his hand back over Sweets neck. Brennan wrapped the neck tie around his wrists when she heard the ambulance enter but the sound went away.

"They can't find us." She said them immediately went outside to wave them down.

Booth looked back at Sweets as with his free hand moved Sweets head to look at him. His stomach twisted at the pale and greenish color the young man was turning.

"Come on Sweets, don't do this, stay with me."

Sweets eyes failed to focus on Booth and instead only rolled uncontrollably and tired, so very tired. Sweets almost smiled as the blissfulness was returning.


	10. Chapter 12

Chapter 12.

"It's amazing any of us survived that Dr. Hodgins." Cam said scolding him as they walked in the hospital doors.

"I should have drove, I said I was going to drive." Angela said to her husband.

"I just wanted to get here okay." Hodgins responded to them both poignantly as they walked to the waiting area where Brennan sat alone.

The hospital was quiet, it was nearly one in the morning, but there was no way they were going home.

"Dr. Brennan." Cam said surprising her causing her to jump a little. Angela would have bet she saw a tear forming in the corner of her eye, but she wasn't sure.

"How is he?" Angela asked.

"They are looking him over now. The doctor said he would be out soon."

"Where's Booth?" Angela asked surprised to see Booth alone. Cam couldn't help but notice the faraway look in Brennan's eyes and wondered what had happened to leave even in the stoic Brennan a little off.

"He went to the restroom." Brennan said and seeing their confusion she elaborated. "He was trying to wash some of Sweets blood of his hands."

She sat back down, feeling leagues more tired now. The rest followed and sat down, eager to ask how they had found Sweets when Booth came back. The tension in the room suggested neither wanted to talk about it, not right now.

They sat in an uncomfortable silence for how long they didn't know.

"I assume you are here for Dr. Lance Sweets?" A voice asked. The five heads perked up to see a doctor in his late fifties standing before them.

"Yes!" Cam said excited and surprised at his quiet entrance.

"I assumed so, not many people here at this time of day." He said and they all noticed he seemed uncomfortable as he fidgeted with his clipboard. "Normally I would ask for family, but I understand he does not have any, is this correct?"

"Yes." Cam said and though for a short word, it had a great deal of sadness in it. "But we are his family." She added.

"Are we?" Booth said quietly though it caught all their attention. Booth seemed to be thinking something over but they ignored it, eager to hear more about Sweets condition.

"He is in recovery. He was very touch and go for a while. He suffered a great amount of blood loss. He also has a couple of broken ribs. However, I do expect a full recovery, though I can't say how quickly. He'll need to get some rest."

The group let out a series of sighs ranging from Hodgins loud sigh, to Cam's soundless one to Angela's breathy one. Brennan looked to Booth who seemed to almost force a smile and she wasn't sure why, it was good news.

"Can we see him?" Hodgins asked. Even though he took the doctor's word for it, he still for some reason wanted to see for himself.

"It's very late." The doctor began but he saw the look on their faces and after seeing the young doctor, thought it might be best if he had a few visitors, if even for a moment. "Alright, but not very long. He is still very, very weak and needs rest."

The group nodded to the terms and then followed the doctor down the hall. Brennan and Booth ended up the last to get to the room. Cam, Angela & Hodgins were surprised at how Sweets looked having not gotten the clear information of what exactly had happened and thus what to expect.

"Oh my." Cam said pausing by the door.

"My God, he's so pale." Hodgins said stepping closer.

Sweets eyes fluttered opened slightly and Hodgins looked embarrassed that at what he said, he was just surprised.

Sweets gave them a small smile but his eyes were still heavy.

"Hey." Angela said and was the first to approach Sweets side. She picked up his hand and put it in hers. His hand felt cold and was ashen. She couldn't help but see the many bandages on his arms and the most obvious one on his neck. "How are you?" Angela asked then shook her head. "Okay stupid question."

Sweets weakly smiled at her again and nodded his head suggesting that he was fine.

"Sweets, man, I never heard you so quiet before. What's up?" Hodgins tried to joke stepping up behind Angela.

"Uh, Dr. Hodgins…" Cam said nodding to the bandage on Sweets throat.

"Oh, I'm sorry, dude, I didn't mean…."

Sweets smiled again and shook his head suggesting it was no big deal.

"There is no long term damage." The doctor announced moving closer to check some of the machines that monitoring vitals. "It may just take Dr. Sweets a while to find his voice again but it should be back."

"See that Sweets, psycho babble will return." Hodgins said trying to joke but Sweets smile this time was obviously forced.

"I think Dr. Sweets would like some rest." The doctor said.

Angela noticed a constant tug since she had taken Sweets hand, as though he were trying to pull it away since she had picked it up. She smiled as she realized maybe it was sore and she hadn't realized it. She smiled at Sweets and told him good night. Hodgins added he would see him again tomorrow and to sleep well. Cam stopped by his side next and smiled and Sweets could tell she was uncomfortable. He smiled as though saying good night in a professional manner. Sweets had misread her as she cleared her throat.

"I'm glad to see you back Sweets. I would have missed you, very much." Sweets eyes opened farther in surprise at her words. She squeezed his hand and said good night.

The three of them left knowing that Brennan and Booth might want a moment more, alone.

"Should we go?" Booth asked and at first Brennan felt it was a cold remark until she saw the concerned look on his face that suggested what he meant was, should they really be going?

Sweets heard them and with a laborious motion waved them away with a smile, suggesting they go.

Brennan looked at Booth feeling the same strange pull. This was Sweets, the baby duck with an odd place in their life, but in their life nonetheless.

"Sweets, we will go, because you need rest." Brennan said because it made sense. "But we will be back tomorrow." She added because she was having a hard time leaving tonight. She knew Sweets was okay, but she was still shaken.

"Maybe I should stay Bones." Booth whispered in Brennan's ear.

They looked back to the bed where Sweets was trying to talk but it only made him cough, causing pain.

"Whoa, Sweets, slow down." Booth said rushing next to the bed. Once he stopped Sweets again waved him away and smiled. He then closed his eyes hoping that Booth see him asleep would make him want to leave.

"The doctor's will watch Sweets Booth." Brennan said quietly. "Why are you concerned with leaving him?"

Booth shrugged his shoulders trying to evade the question but Brennan saw the look in his eyes and she realized he felt guilt. _Me, he picks me _played over in his mind.

"Come on, let's go home, get changed, get some sleep and come back tomorrow."

Booth nodded after stealing a glance at Sweets and took Brennan's hand as they left.

* * *

Booth and Brennan arrived at home, tired and exhausted both mentally and physically. They hadn't talked much on the way home and upon entering were glad they had been quiet.

Brennan smiled as she saw her dad, Max, asleep on the couch with Christine in his arms.

"I'll take her upstairs." Booth said gently picking up the sleeping girl and carrying her off. Max stirred as he did so.

"Oh hi honey." He said rubbing his eyes.

"Dad it's late, you should stay." Brennan suggested. He was tired so he put up little fight to do anything but agree.

"How is your friend? Dr. Sweets?"

"I don't know dad, physically he will recover."

"But…"

"I don't know what it is dad, I know it's not rational, I just have a strange feeling. When we were standing there, Derringer wanted Booth to choose."

"Between you and Booth?"

"No, he wanted Booth to choose between me and Sweets."

"Well of course Booth wasn't going to let his wife, mother of his children…"

"It wasn't that dad, I don't think Booth would have let… the point is dad, Sweets picked himself - instantly." She looked down at her hands. "It was like he didn't think he had a chance in the consideration and gave up, so quickly."

Max put an arm around her while he thought of what to say.

"Sweets, he doesn't have family does he?"

"Not exactly, his birth…" She sighed. "No. No he doesn't."

"He probably just feels alone. Think of how things have changed since you got to the Jeffersonian, began to work with Angela, then me coming back, then Booth, Christine. I don't think Sweets has that."

"I understand what you are saying dad, thank you. We can't forget Sweets."

Booth cleared his throat at the door. "Christine is in bed."

"Well, goodnight dad." Brennan added as she left with Booth.

"Booth, I'm not very good at this sort of thing, but do you want to talk about…"

"No Bones I don't. I just want to take a shower, and, and go to bed." He said heading to the shower, the smell of blood still on his mind.

When he came out Brennan was asleep, completely out and he was glad to see her at ease. He however still felt like a ball of nerves. He lay in bed a while and tossed and turned. He wasn't at ease, restless with a feeling he couldn't define.

It was now almost three in the morning and Booth couldn't sleep. He didn't want to continue tossing and turning and wake Brennan. He got up and went downstairs but didn't want to wake Max. Finally he slipped on his coat having settled on the idea of a drive. He felt safe enough that Max was there with Brennan and Christine. He just needed to do something. What he wasn't sure of yet.

In no time he found himself in the hospital parking lot. He hadn't planned to be there, he just stopped the car and found himself parking. Maybe he was tired or maybe it was a sub-conscious decision. He didn't want to leave and instead went inside and to Sweets room.

The halls were quiet as Booth went in and sat beside Sweets bed. He was sleeping and Booth was happy that even a couple hours of rest had brought a little color back to Sweets.

Booth sighed as he sat there. He wasn't sure what to do since it wasn't like Sweets was in a coma to talk to him out of. But as he sat he relaxed more, soon he found his own breathing was lighter now, relaxed. It finally occurred to him that by just sitting there, the fact Sweets wasn't alone made him feel more peaceful. Soon he began to drift off himself, though the words still played in his head unhappily singing, _Me, he picks me_.

* * *

The almost end.

Be sure to check out The Sequel to the Story, the sequel to this story! :)


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